Sinking or Swimming
by Awahili
Summary: AU of 'Dana and the Deep Blue Sea' in which Dana is going snorkeling with Gordon to get over her fear of fish. But when Gordon cancels their entire relationship, who is there to pick up the pieces? CaseyDana Friendship


The first half of this is taken from the episode "Dana and the Deep Blue Sea" in which Dana is going to get over her fear of fish. The end, however, is completely AU, as I never liked Gordon in the first place.

* * *

"Hey Casey!" Natalie Hurley exclaimed as she entered his office.

"Hey Natalie," he returned.

"You mind if I grab a piece of paper?" she asked, pointing to his pad of paper.

"Sure." He ripped the second sheet from his pad and handed it to her, never taking his eyes off the small computer screen on his right. Natalie grabbed the sheet, crumpled it up, and threw it at his head. Casey looked up as it bounced off.

"Kay…"

"How you doing?"

"What did I do?" he asked. Natalie sat down across from him, a perplexed look on her face.

"Why aren't you pursuing Dana the way I told you to?"

"Hey, Dana made it very clear, in no uncertain terms, that she wanted me to _stop_ pursuing her. And that was back when I never was pursuing her, which, I'm still not now."

"She's in there right now listening to Gordon bail on the snorkeling trip; and she was very excited about it. She was gonna get over her fear of fish," Natalie explained.

"Fish is not what Dana's afraid of," Casey replied matter-of-factly.

"Then what's she afraid of?"

"Holding out for what she deserves."

"Exactly, exactly! I totally agree, and I don't even know what that means."

Casey stopped writing his script and looked at Natalie. "Do you think Dana's happy going out with Gordon?"

"I do not," Natalie stated.

"Then we're in agreement," he turned back to his script.

"I think Dana would be happier going out with you." Casey grabbed his pad and stood up.

"And there we do not agree," he walked back over to his desk. Natalie got up to follow.

"Listen to what I'm telling you!"

"I have, and you're wrong," he said, sitting down in his chair.

"We're best friends! She tells me things," Natalie tried.

"What has she told you?" he asked, trying not to see too interested.

"Things."

"She told you she'd rather be going out with me than with Gordon?"

"Not in those words."

"In what words?"

"Other words."

"Natalie!"

Natalie leaned over his desk to emphasize her point. "Gordon's about to break up with Dana – he might even be doing it right now – and the only reason Dana cares is that she thinks she's supposed to care. She thinks this is her fault." Casey leaned forward, extremely interested now, but before he could respond, Isaac interrupted from the doorway.

"Casey –" but he, too, was interrupted by Natalie jumping over to him.

"Isaac, don't you think – don't you know – that Dana isn't happy with Gordon, and that Gordon is about to break up with Dana, and Dana only thinks she cares?"

"You know what?" Isaac responded, "I'm going to step out now and it'll be like I never came in." He left quickly, hoping to escape Natalie's tirade. Natalie sighed and turned back to face Casey.

"Casey? No kidding around. The world keeps moving in one direction. Do something…really."

"If I did something, Natalie, it'd just be as a friend," he said.

"Whatever," she replied as he stood up and walked around her.

"What should I do?" he asked.

"You should go to her," Natalie explained.

"Go to her?"

"You should go to her."

"When?" he asked.

"Now."

"I should go to her _now_?"

"Yes."

"On a Thursday?"

"Yes."

"Go to her…"

"Right." He turned toward the door, then quickly turned back again.

"What should I do once I get to her?"

"Be a man," Natalie said. Casey nodded encouragingly to himself a few times.

"Alright," he walked out the door, laughed, then turned back one last time. "I've got that wired, right?"

"Yeah," Natalie laughed, and Casey turned and walked toward the conference room. He watched Dana's back as she spoke on the phone with her boyfriend, and Casey couldn't help but think how beautiful she was even from behind. He watched her shoulders rise and fall with each breath she took, and he could tell from outside she was arguing with Gordon. Finally silence as Dana gripped the receiver one last time before setting it down.

Casey took that has his cue to enter. He opened the door, took a step in, and let the door shut behind him. He waited several silent seconds as she stared at the phone, then stepped forward and laid a hand on her shoulder. Her hand came up to meet his, but she still didn't say anything.

"How you doing?" he asked softly, and she finally looked up. Casey could see her holding back the tears, and he slowly lifted her from her seat. She buried her face in his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Shh…it's alright, Dana." She wept silently into his shirt as he held her tightly. Fifteen years as her best friend had put them through a lot together, and he knew there wasn't anything she could ask that he would refuse. As he stood there, his mind raced back over twelve years, to an incident not unlike this one.

**University of Wyoming – 1986**

"These mid-terms are kicking my ass," Twenty-two year old Casey McCall said as he threw his bag down on the library table. Dana Whitaker looked up from her studies, then back down again without a word. Casey paused a moment before sitting in the chair opposite her.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Dana, I've known you since freshman year, we have all the same classes, we eat together practically every night, we study together, and you room with my girlfriend who, by the way, you introduced to me. Need I go on? When something's wrong with you, I'd like to think I'd pick up on it. Now is one of those times. Something's wrong." He left the end hanging, hoping she'd open up.

"I, uh –"

"Hey guys," Lisa tossed her bag into the nearest chair and kissed Casey hello.

"Uh, hi Lees. Listen, I gotta run," Casey grabbed his bag and, as his back was turned to Lisa he whispered, "This isn't over, Dana." After a quick goodbye to the girls, he left, leaving a very confused Lisa and a very anxious Dana.

Some hours later, Lisa had been called to a "mid-term sleepover" a few floors up. Dana had politely but vehemently refused to join her, and she now sat alone in her dorm, staring out the window. A lone figure approached, and as he passed under the streetlight, Dana recognized Casey's visage. Sighing, she knew he wouldn't leave until she talked to him, so she threw on her easiest pair of shoes (Denver Bronco slippers) and trekked downstairs to meet him at the door.

"Hey," she said quietly, not even questioning his presence. Casey easily slipped an arm around her shoulders and they began walking around the campus silently.

Neither said a word for the better part of an hour, but the silence was not an uncomfortable one. Casey knew Dana would talk to him eventually, when she felt strong enough. His only job at the moment was to be there when she needed him. The chilly night air was causing Dana to shiver ever so slightly, and she was beginning to regret not bringing actual shoes. Casey looked over at her, then down at her attire. She was in sweat pants, thankfully, but the thin T-shirt and slippers she had on couldn't be warm enough for her.

"We should go back," he started, but she cut him off by sitting down on a park bench. Casey then realized they'd walked to the other side of campus, to Henley Park, and he sat down next to her as she gazed out over the lake. The water was still and black, and its gentle lapping could be heard down near the shore.

"George dumped me," she said suddenly, and Casey felt himself freeze up. He was not prepared for anything like this, but he'd sworn to himself he'd help her through whatever was bothering her.

"Why?" was all he offered, though he did fold her into his side to share some of his warmth with her.

"He said I was too involved with my studies," she explained. "He said he needed someone who wasn't afraid to let go and unwind once and a while." Casey could hear the self-loathing in her voice and his grip tightened a little.

"Well, he's obviously never seen you table dancing to _My Boogie Shoes_," he teased, and she slapped him good-naturedly.

"One time!" she said defensively, though both of them knew just how "unwound" she had become that night. Casey often thought he could have taken her to bed that night, were he not a gentleman. Their gentle laughter subsided, and they sat silently some minutes before Dana's soft voice broke the stillness.

"Casey, do you think…I mean do you ever – that is – would you ever have –" He put a finger to her lips and stared into her eyes.

"Dana, any man would be lucky to have you, and any man who doesn't see that is a fool. If I weren't so in love with Lisa, I'd like to think you and I would have a chance." The smile he was so used to seeing on her face returned, and she leaned into him, more embracing him now than leaning on him. And then, for some unknown reason, the dam broke and Dana was no longer able to contain her emotion. She began to weep. Casey, completely thrown off-guard by her sudden change in behavior, could do nothing but hold her and whisper comforting things into her hair.

If asked later, Casey could not recall what he'd said to help her over George. He couldn't remember how long it took them to get back to her dorm or even what time it was when they arrived. But he could recount, down to the last minute detail of the directions of her wrinkles, what Dana Whitaker was wearing that night. And he considered himself lucky to know her.

If asked later, Dana could not recall how long they had been out, or even what shirt she had on. But she could recite word for word what Casey McCall had said to help her away from the edge. And she counted herself fortunate to have such a wonderful friend.

**End Flashback**

Casey stood stoically, holding a now-silent Dana in the middle of the conference room. _Damn Gordan_, was Casey's first childish thought, but he knew that line of thinking wouldn't help Dana now. She needed a friend, a confidante, and Casey was determined to show her that, even though they'd had some edgy spots (especially lately), he was still here for her.

"Hey Casey?" her soft voice broke the stillness.

"Yeah Dana," he replied, trying to convey to her in those two words that she could ask anything at all of him right now.

"Tonight's show is pretty simple right?" Casey laughed and agreed. "What would you say if I asked you to come with me to my apartment? We could just, you know, hang out like we used to – watch movies, eat popcorn, whatever. I'd throw in a replacement anchor of course, no extra charge," she added at his imminent argument. He smiled, looked around the conference room as if thinking. Dan could more than cover what was left, and he had most of his script written anyway. Any replacement anchor they could get at this hour probably wouldn't be the greatest, and if all else failed they could just throw Natalie or Jeremy in front of the camera.

"What will Isaac say?" he asked, tacitly agreeing to her plan. Her eyes shone with a light that Casey wished he could reserve for him alone as she answered.

"He owes me one," she said without further explanation. As she moved toward the door, Casey smiled.

"I'll get our coats while you talk to the boss. See you by the elevators." They parted and Casey merrily rounded up his things as Natalie sauntered in.

"Well?" she asked, apparently ready for all the juicy details. Casey couldn't resist and, while brushing past her, he commented.

"Good luck on your show, Natalie." Isaac and Dana exited the hallway moments later, Dana walking considerably faster. Natalie caught up with Isaac as he smiled and waved her off.

"Natalie, I was just coming to see you. Something's come up and I need you to take the show tonight. We'll grab Kevin to replace Casey for the night. Have someone tell Dan and be ready for a run-down as soon as Kevin arrives." Natalie made a few quick notes on her clipboard before rushing off to complete her assignments.

Later, she would reflect on the cause of the whirlwind changes that had whipped through that day. But it would be well after a successful show, after she and Jeremy had tired out, and in the wee hours of the morning just before succumbing to sleep.

Casey lay on Dana's couch that night, recalling the past few hours. They had watched a few movies, but mostly talked over them. They caught up on all the things they had missed in their lives due to their jobs, and what they would like to be doing in the future. Casey had to catch himself several times throughout his recitation to keep himself from saying he'd rather be anywhere she was; that his life wouldn't be the same if he couldn't see her everyday.

But he knew she was not ready to hear that. He knew comments like that would only build her shield, not tear it down. So he filed it away in his mind under "Things to Tell Dana After I Love You," right next to "That night in Henley Park was one of the most romantic and touchstone moments of my life."

If he stopped breathing and strained his ears, he could hear her steady breathing indicating her slumber. He stood quietly and padded over to her door, sliding it open carefully. And in that moment he realized that, had he the ability to alter the past, he wouldn't change a day. Everything in their lives had brought him to this perfect moment, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.

Before he closed her door, he noted the framed photo on her nightstand. It was of her and him, at graduation. He had picked her up and had begun spinning with her, she had clamped her arms around his shoulders, and they were both grinning like madmen. Casey smiled once more and shut the door completely. They would deal with today tomorrow. For now, Casey was content to lay on her couch reveling in the fact that he had the same photo framed on his nightstand.


End file.
